14032019-ATR-01.qxd 3/14/2019 12:16 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE FAMILY SEEKS PRESIDENT’S HELP FOR RELEASE OF POW Sepoy Lal Singh is said to have been in Pakistan’s captivity since the 1965 war. FORECAST MOSTLY CLOUDY PAGE 2 PAGE 3 AKSHAY, AYUSHMANN REQUEST PEOPLE TO VOTE AT PM’S BEHEST Akshay Kumar and Ayushmann Khurrana, at PM’s behest, have urged people to cast their vote in LS pollls. MAX 19°C | MIN 11°C | YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6:37 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:41 AM Amritsar: A group of 26 students of MSc Botany with their teachers has visited the Khalsa Heritage Centre (Science & Technology Museum). They were informed about the heritage and art of Punjab, old coins, old utensils, musical instruments, etc. In the technology section, the museum displays MIG fighter jet engine, its control panel, ejection chair and various other scientific instruments. Information was also imparted regarding the old scientific instruments related to NMR, ESR and X-ray diffraction. Prof Sudha Jatinder said the Khalsa Heritage Centre was enhancing the knowledge of students. TNS Used to steal, loot luxury vehicles from Delhi Tribune News Service Russian Army Chief Oleg Salyukov (third from right) at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR DIESEL ~66.79 WHAT’S ON AMRITSAR EXHIBITION: IAFA to host exhibition of sculptures and paintings titled ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ by Londonbased artist Mohan Luthra. Russian Army General at Golden Temple Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Russian Army General and Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov paid obeisance at the Golden Temple on Wednesday. Before Woman ends life, in-laws booked Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 A married woman committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling of her house in Bhangwa village here on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Sonia (22). Following the complaint of her brother, the police have booked her in-laws, including her husband. No arrest has been made so far. Those booked were identified as deceased‘s husband Sukhdev Singh, Malook Singh, Gurjit Kaur and Kuldip Singh. A case under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC was registered against them. Lovepreet Singh, the complainant, alleged that his sis- THURSDAY | 14 MARCH 2019 | AMRITSAR Vehicle lifters’ gang busted, 3 nabbed 26 STUDENTS VISIT HERITAGE CENTRE PETROL ~72.88 PAGE 4 Payal Ghosh is coming up with app that deals with mental health issues. She experienced a nervous breakdown. INBRIEF FUEL PRICES PAYAL GHOSH TO COME UP WITH APP ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ter Sonia was married to Sukhdev Singh around six years ago. He alleged that the accused had been harassed her since marriage for bringing insufficient dowry. According to him, he received a call on Tuesday that Sonia ended her life by hanging herself. He alleged that Sonia was disturbed over the harassment at the hands of her in-laws therefore she committed suicide. Gurdip Singh, investigating officer, said a case was registered following the complaint submitted by Lovepreet and further investigation was under way. The body of the deceased was handed over to her family after postmortem examination. Amritsar, March 13 With the arrest of three persons, the Amritsar rural police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle lifters who used to steal or loot vehicles from Delhi and sold them in different parts of Punjab by forging documents. The police have recovered two vehicles and two firearms from their possession. The cops hope for more recovery during the interrogation of the accused who have been taken on police remand. Those arrested were identified as Sarabjit Singh of Khatrai Kalan village, Simranjit Singh and Amanpreet Singh, both residents of Riar village in Ajnala. A case under Sections 379, 411, 473 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against them. FIREARMS SEIZED ■ Two .12 country-made weapons with five live cartridges, a Ford Endeavour with fake registration number and a Lancer have been seized. ■ The accused are Sarabjit Singh of Khatrai Kalan village, Simranjit Singh and Amanpreet Singh, both residents of Riar village in Ajnala. ■ Sarabjit’s father Baljinder Singh is lodged in Tihar jail in Delhi. He is facing over 20 cases of different nature. Parampal Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar rural, said Sarabjit’s father Baljinder Singh was lodged in Tihar jail in Delhi, who is facing over 20 cases of different nature. He came in contact with Harcharan Singh, a Delhi resident, who used to steal or snatch luxury vehicles from the national capital and adjoining areas and later handed it over to Sarabjit and the remaining two accused, who are friends of Baljinder Singh. They used to tamper with number plates to sell the vehicles in Punjab. The accused were brought on three-day police remand for further interrogation and more recoveries are likely to be made from them. The three accused were held with an SUV — Ford Endeavour — near Teda Kalan village following a tipoff. A fake registration number plate was fixed on the vehicle. The police also confiscated two .12 countrymade weapons with five live cartridges. During interrogation, another car, Mitsubishi Lancer, was recovered from Sarabjit’s residence. The police team also seized 20 bullets of .315 bore from his house. According to cops, further investigation is under way in hope of more recovery. that, he took part in the circumambulation. He was accompanied by senior officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), led by Chief Secretary Roop Singh. En-route, he was briefed about Sikh traditions and history of the Golden Temple. He took keen interest in the tradition of langar (community kitchen). He also offered ‘karah parshad’. The Russian Army General was later felicitated by senior SGPC officials. He expressed Wheat bungled, man booked DC on BRTS bus to take stock of passengers’ issues Amritsar, March 13 The rural police have booked a ration depot holder for allegedly selling government wheat meant for distribution among economically weak families. He has been identified as Sarabjit Singh of Raipur Kalan village. Complainant Kulbir Singh, spouse of sarpanch Baljit Kaur, said Sarabjit had a ration depot in his village. He alleged that 505 bags of wheat were allotted to him for distributing among blue card holders. However, the accused distributed only 418 bags of wheat, bungling the remaining wheat bags. He sold the same to people at a high price, the complainant alleged. A case under Section 409 of the IPC has been registered against him. He hasn’t been arrested yet. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Officials of the district administration, led by Deputy Commissioner Shivdular Singh Dhillon, took a ride in a BRTS bus to know about the problems of passengers so that the service could be further improved. The deputy commissioner also took notice of the parking in BRTS lanes at certain places and unauthorised use of the corridor by private vehicles. He said the problem would be solved and it would ensure that the four-minute frequency of the buses is maintained. He was accompanied by Amritsar Smart City Advisor Balvinder Singh and BRTS Project Manager Simarjot Singh Walia and others associated with the project. his being impressed with the Gurbani’s message of ‘sarb sanjhiwalta’. Chief Secretary Roop Singh said it was for the first time that a Russian Army General visited the most sacred place of the Sikhs. people have ❝15 lakhthese buses travelled in since the start of the project. It has changed the public transport scenario in the city. It will go a long way in providing affordable travelling ❞ Shivdular Singh Dhillon, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER “A total of 15 lakh people have travelled in these buses since the start of the project. It has changed the public transport scenario in the city. It will go a long way in providing affordable travel and checking the problem of traffic jam,” said Dhillon. He said the BRTS project was running successfully in 12 cities of the country and the way people showed Deputy Commissioner Shivdular Singh Dhillon (centre), along with the Smart City project team, at a BRTS station in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO enthusiasm hinted towards its success in future. The government has already announced free transportation to schoolchildren, 66 fare charges for college students and discounts for senior citizens and differently abled even after the three month free trail ends next month. Project Manager Sarabjot Singh said they had man- aged to ensure the frequency of the buses at all the 47 bus stops to a great extent. “There are a few issues and it is hoped that we will manage it,” he added. ‘Hastened’ increase in import duty troubles importers First clean street Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 The notification regarding a hike in import duty to 200 per cent issued by the Union Finance Ministry does not specify the time of its implementation, leaving importers confused. Due to this, customs officials at the ICP Attari, are not , allowing the importers to pick up their imports without paying 200 per cent duty. A cement importer, Vikram Arora, said, hours after his paying entry bill for a lot of cement from Pakistan at the ICP the , decision of hike in the customs duty was announced. The next day he went to the Customs Department who denied to clear the import without paying 200 per cent duty inspite of the fact that all their documents were cleared and the duty at the old rate was deposited before the notification was issued, he added. A dry fruit importer, Anil Mehra, said it was an injus- tice with Punjab business fraternity that the import duty was hiked from the the ICP Attari, while barter , trade was undergoing at the Aman-Setu in the Kashmir valley. He said, “We appreciate the decision taken by the Union Government of withdrawing the most favoured (MFN) status to Pakistan and imposition of import duty on all the commodities brought in from Pakistan from all the Indian ports, except Jammu and Kashmir.” He said it created an uneven trade scenario. He added that they were informed by their counterparts in other states that the increase in import duty on trade from all other Indian ports with Pakistan had affected the business very badly because trade from ‘Aman-Setu’ is totally duty free whereas from elsewhere heavy duty is charged. Further, a huge quantity of almonds and walnuts of the USA origin are being openly imported duty free against food hub on Apr 13 Tribune News Service The Centre’s notification doesn’t mention the time of implementation of the 200% import duty hike. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR the export of all types of spices, i.e. coconut powder, cardamom, tamarind, bananas and others to Pak- istan through ‘Aman-Setu’. It results in a huge revenue loss to the government itself yet it is turning blind eye. c m y b Goods are brought in from Pakistan at a value which is under invoiced with the understanding that the dif- ference between the actual and invoiced value will be given to the terrorists operating in the country. Amritsar, March 13 The state’s first clean food street near the Golden Temple is all set to be certified on April 13. A meeting of stakeholders in the project was conducted here on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Rajbir Singh, Chairman, Food Safety and Training Organisation (FSATO), a private firm engaged by the government, Ashok Mishra, Joint Director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Parag Srivastva, representative of pre-auditing firm, Ramita Mehta, funding partner, and Dr Lakhbir Singh Bhagowalia, District Health Officer. Divulging the details, Bhagowlia said that the shortcomings, which had been found, would be resolved within next weeks and the first clean street food hub would be ready on April 13. The private firm, FSATO, would train food business operators. Bhagowalia said the purpose was to ensure the availability of better quality and hygienic food to people. He said that as per the proposal, three clean street food hubs would be opened in the city. “The other two sites will be at Lawrence Road and Ranjit Avenue. After the completion of the work at the the first site, the team will move to the second one,” he said. Though street food is very popular among residents and tourists coming to the city, due to absence of quality monitoring, people are apprehensive about the quality of the food being served. “The department will also issue food hygiene certificates to operators who will address concerns of the customers,” said the health officer.

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).